greece – inbetweenflights

Experience Crete island like a the local To be honest, Grece was never the top destination on the list. It looked nice but that was it. Felt rather like a good option for retirement. 😁 But since in 2023 the Chania flight frequency was increased during the weekeds, we gave it a try. Initially, we went from Friday to Sunday but we ended up going there for 4 times in a row. Every time doing something different and discovering new places. I must say, it is not the most epical island in the world but it felt very confortable and hassle free to go there. On top of that, it has a bit of everything for everyone: beaches, hikes, food, wine, you name it. We met some locals along the way which not only made our experience amazing, but kept reccommending places to go to. This being said, we would like to share all this stuff in the article below. Keep reading! We will skip the part about times to go there and general info as the internet is full of that. However, considering the mediterranean climate and southern position, Crete has a great weather starting from end of March until end of October. For swimming though, it`s best to consider the shoulder season in September and October, when the water is still super warm. Chania or Heraklion ? These are the two main airports on the island. In our opinion, the region around Chania is better in terms of everything: beaches, mountains, restaurants. However, they are not that far from each other, about 2 h drive. Getting around You need to rent a car! We found this amazing small and local car rental company which made our life so much easier. They are called U DRIVE. What we loved about them was the fact that they are super relaxed, do not ask for any deposit, deliver the car at the airport and then they pick it up from the airport as well and ask for super decent prices. You can also purchase full insurance at a decent p rice for your peace of mind. The cars are not very fancy but you don`t really need fancy cars here. Best restaurants Here is a list of restaurants reccommended by the locals, where locals eat, which we absolutely loved. Most of them are in Chania area. To be honest, there weren`t any bad restaurant in Crete, but these ones are the best. Gramboussa Restaurant - in Kissamos province Dihalo Restaurant ( Το Δίχαλο Χανιά ) - in Chania Anopoli Taverna - in Sfakia region / exact location here - this place belongs to a family and they have their own farm, providing fresh ingredients ( more about it later on ) Tzaneris & Archontissa - in Chania area Gramboussa restautant has a really nice terrace Nice beaches Most of the local people reccommended us Falassarna beach. This is located on the western side of the island, so plenty of sunset watching opportunities. There are many nice places to stay in this area, as well. In the south west, you can see the famous Elafonissi beach, however this one is obviously super crowded. Further down, close to Elafonissi, there is Kedrodasos beach which is way quieter. However, bear in mind that this one is also famous for nudist people. However, we really loved the area around Loutro and Hora Sfakion and all the beaches in between these places: Glyka Nera, Perivolakia and Timios Stavros beaches, Ilingas beach, etc. These are less crowded, generally rocky and a bit more wild. They can be accesed by a nice hiking trail along the sea shore. Falassarna beach Elafonissi beach - super crowded ( and this was in September ) Kedrodasos beach Ilingas beach ( left ) and Glyka Nera ( right ) Loutro village and the hike on the shore This is, by far, our favorite village on the island. It is a fishing village, very secluded but with nice facilities. It is located on the southern shore of the island and you can get here by car + 20 minutes walking or by boat. From here, you can do the shore trek that we mentioned above. The nice thing about this trek is that combines walking and swimming. We went all the way to Hora Sfakion ( 20 km ) and we stopped at several beaches for a swim, but you can make it as long as you want. Loutro This is how the trek looks like This is also the trek ( Hora Sfakion can be seen in the background ) And this is the most "challenging" part - however it is mostly flat terrain Some nice places to stay The one that we saved for ourselves is called Georgos house Taverna & Rooms and is very simple but exclusive, on Likos beach. We found it by mistake, when we visited Loutro for the first time. They have a website but you can also call them directly. Another place that we liked was Diamond Star hotel in Falassarna beach. Trekking Did you know that this island has 2500 m mountains? And yes, you can hike them. Cretan mountains are mainly grouped into three ranges: the Dikti range in Lassithi, the Ida (Psiloritis) range in central Crete and the White Mountains (Lefka Ori) in Chania. Here we are talking about the White Mountains and more specifically, Pachnes Peak, the highest mountain the this range, at 2452 m. Hiking Pachnes The shortest route is from the south. The full route from Anopolis village to the summit is 15.5 km. The ascent would take about 7-8 hrs and de descent about 5-6 hrs. However, this would most likely mean camping in the mountains, as there is no palce to stay over the night. Alternatively, you can follow the easy ascent to Pachnes by driving along the 4x4 dirt road ( 21 km ) and get to Rousies. From there, follow the yellow/white markings to the top ( 1.5 hrs ). The nice thing is that we found a family who owns a taverna and has a bussiness in Anopolis village. They provide accommodation, fresh food from their farm ( which is delicious!! ), bike rental and 4x4 pick up and drop off to the mountains. They are called Anopoli Rooms and Anopoli Taverna. They can be found here, on Google Maps or alternatively you can call them directly on +302825091171 or e-mail them at info@anopolirooms.gr . We chose to go by car at 9 am, drove about 1 hr and then we climbed to the top ( 1.5 hrs ). After that, we did the full decent on foot, which took us about 6 hrs. The view from Pachnes peak The White Mountains Wine tasting This is another thing to do, especially if you go off season. We found a really nice wineyard close to Heraklion. It is called Lyrarakis Winery and they are famous in the region for saving form extinction some Cretan grapes. The white wines are all pretty nice and from the red ones we highly reccommed Mandalari. We went there offseason, in October, and we just walked in, without any booking. We only did the wine tasting tour but they also offer wineyard visits and other stuff. Enjoying the wine tasting with such a great background view Other places to visit Chania town Sisi fishing village Hora Sfakion Livaniana remote village Sfakia region and the mountain road in between Vryses and Chora Sfakion ( quite scenic ) Balos lagoon ( we haven`t been there but we just saw it from the plane and heard it is nice ) Rethymno town Sisi village Hora Sfakion Old town of Chania Livaniana Village Where to buy local products Greece is famous for its great food but the food in Chania is really special. We found some amazing olive oil and natural honey, as well as great tea and spices. The best place for all of these is Sfakia region. If you go on the road from Vryses to Hora Sfakion, you will cross the mountains and find different villages along the route. There are many small shops or local tavernas that sell fresh olive oil and honey. This is, by far, the best place to buy things. One place that we particularly loved was Anopoli Taverna ( the place we stayed at ). We bought amazing olive oil ( which they sell by kilo ) and super good and natural honey, as well as dried oregano. We will definitely come back for more! There is also the mountain tea that they sell everywhere in this region. We found it everywhere, including in shops in Hora Sfakion. Additionally, we bought good olive oil from Lyrarakis winery. Next, feel inspired by our photo gallery. Hope you`ll enjoy! Chania harbour - old town Chania town by night Photo session on Falassarna beach Same photo session :) Loutro village by night Another caption of Loutro - this place was truly lovely Paralia Likos, where we found some relaxing places to stay, away from the crowds. You can reach this place either by car ( driving on a easy gravel road ) or by boat Us on Kedrodasos beach ( which is also naked beach apparently :)) ) Us on Elafonissi beach - which was way too crowded, even in September The area around Vryses towards the mountains, full of olive trees Wine tasting at Lyrarakis Winery Mandatory stop in an olive tree orchard Did you know that olives cannot be consumed as such and need to be put in water for several days? This helps to remove the biterness Having luch in Peteinos Alaniaris taverna in Peza village ( on the way to Lyrarakis winery ) View from Pachnes peak Pachnes peak sign It was super cold on the summit, even in September A nice hotel with infinity pool in Falassarna beach: Diamond Star hotel

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